Visit of LSMU Representatives in Geneva Strengthened Cooperation With CERN

On 1 December, the delegation led by the first deputy chancellor of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, Dr. Rimantas Vaitkus – ambassador Rytis Paulauskas, LSMU Rector Prof. Remigijus Žaliūnas, KTU Rector Prof. Petras Baršauskas, Managing Director of the LSMU Hospital Kauno Klinikos Prof. Renaldas Jurkevičius, chancellor of the LSMU Academy of Medicine Prof. Vilius Grabauskas, and Vice Rector for Research at KTU Dr. Asta Pundzienė – visited the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

Dr. Rimantas Vaitkus, the leader of the delegation, informed Prof. Rolf-Dieter Heuer, Director General of CERN, about the decision of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania (upon consent of the members of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania) to address the chairwoman of the CERN Council in the near future and to express the Lithuanian attempt to start the process of the associated membership in CERN.

During the visit, the rectors of KTU and LSMU, Managing Director of the LSMU Hospital and Director General of CERN signed the memorandum of intentions regarding cooperation in the CERN medical programmes and related areas. The delegation met the CERN representatives for discussions regarding advantages and procedure of membership in CERN, application of CERN researches in medicine, projects financed by CERN and EU, and opportunities for university students and graduates to work and be on internship in CERN.

Moreover, the delegation got introduced to the CERN activities, main workshops, the first accelerator Synchrocyclotron, Microcosm and interactive exhibitions, and CERN projects such as Isolde, Medicis, OpenMed/BioLeir, Worldwide LHC Computing Grid, crystalline laboratory, and other CERN projects.

At the end of October, Prof. Rolf Dieter Heuer, Director General of CERN, also visited the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences and Kaunas Clinics. That visit served to discuss thoroughly the possibilities of joint projects with LSMU and LSU Hospital, to express interest in the developed research bases, and to learn the Lithuanian experience in nuclear medicine.

Information of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Lithuania in Geneva